By: Sarah Summer

In a quiet apartment in Oslo, a young writer once sat down on a November evening and decided to stop waiting for inspiration. “Around this time, my boyfriend (at the time) and I broke up,” Sofia Ulrikson recalled in an interview with Authority Magazine. “Amid the tears and distress, I remember him telling me to focus on myself and live the life I wanted now that I was not with him anymore. I heeded him, and one November evening, I sat down and wrote the idea down, and I started working on my first book.”

That idea became Behind the Red Wooden Door, a quietly haunting work of magical realism that explores loss, loneliness, and the long road back to oneself. It is the debut novel of a writer who has loved stories for as long as she can remember. “When I was in kindergarten, I used to share fictional stories with the other children,” she said. “After learning the alphabet, I started writing little stories and poems, one of which was published in a newspaper, and read books when I was supposed to be asleep.”

Today, Ulrikson is based in Oslo, pursuing a degree in clinical psychology at the University of Oslo. “It is my desire not only to write and share stories about people and mental health,” her author bio states, “but also to read inspiring books and listen to the unique narratives of the individuals I encounter through my work and social spheres.” Her professional training and personal experience come together naturally in her fiction. Behind the Red Wooden Door moves between waking life and dreamscape with the instinct of a writer who understands that the mind is both a labyrinth and a refuge.

A Door to Somewhere Else

The story follows Drew, a young woman struggling to cope after the departure of her only friend. Isolated in her day-to-day existence, Drew begins having vivid dreams about a red wooden door, a threshold that seems to open into another world. Hesitant at first, she becomes increasingly drawn to what lies behind it, especially after encountering a masked stranger who moves through the dreams with deliberate calm.

While Drew’s waking life feels muted, weighed down by work, an emotionally distant father, and the ache of abandonment, the dream world pulses with color and sound. There she encounters new versions of old memories and faces she half recognizes. When she meets Bonnie, a bright and open-hearted young woman who reminds her of the friend she lost, the boundary between the two worlds begins to blur.

The red door, at once mysterious and symbolic, becomes a psychological mirror. What waits behind it is not supernatural terror but something more unsettling: the unprocessed truths of Drew’s own grief. As Ulrikson put it, “The best stories are the ones with substance, that say something important or resonate with the reader. I did not merely write Behind the Red Wooden Door because it was an interesting idea that I wanted to explore, but also because I wanted to say something about loneliness and connection, and convey that through the unique lens of magical realism.”

The Making of a Writer

Ulrikson’s attachment to writing goes back decades. In her Authority Magazine profile she recounted how, as a timid seventh-grader, she discovered that words could carry her voice when she could not. “We were tasked with writing our autobiography,” she said. “I remember standing in front of the class, heart beating. I remember focusing on the page and reading what I had written aloud. I remember the room being silent as everyone listened to my words. And then clapping, and compliments, and the teacher suggesting that I read my text to everyone and their parents at the end-of-term celebration.”

That moment, she explained, mattered less for its scale than for what it affirmed: that writing could reach people even when speaking felt impossible. The memory still anchors her approach to storytelling: empathy first, voice second, perfection last.

Like many writers of her generation, Ulrikson also learned through fanfiction. “When I was a teen, I dabbled in a bit of fanfiction,” she admitted with good humor. Her most ambitious early project was a Hunger Games spin-off with an entirely new cast of characters. “I think I learned a lot about writing dialogue, which is one of my biggest strengths now, and managing a large cast of characters in a story.”

Fanfiction, she says, served its purpose: practice. It taught her pacing, structure, and the rhythm of conversation. What it could not offer, and what she ultimately found in her own novel, was meaning rooted in lived experience.

Discipline Over Inspiration

Asked about the hardest part of writing a book, Ulrikson’s answer was immediate: starting. “Writing a book seems like such a colossal achievement when you are standing at the base of the mountain and looking up,” she said. “And it is a big achievement, but when you have done nothing or very little of the kind before, it just seems kind of impossible to imagine that you will get to the other side one day.”

The key, she discovered, was discipline. “Without discipline, I would not have been able to start transforming my idea into tens of thousands of words. Without discipline, I would not have managed to finish my first draft. Without discipline, I would never have kept on going. Discipline feels awfully like a punishment when you feel unmotivated but always a reward when you are done.”

She wrote Behind the Red Wooden Door in the margins of student life, between classes, exams, and daily obligations. What kept her moving was the conviction that storytelling, like therapy, is a form of human connection. “You need a reason to keep going,” she said. “When I sat down to work on Behind the Red Wooden Door, it was not just a passion for the craft that inspired me. It was also the thought of pursuing a childhood dream and telling a story for others to enjoy and learn from.”

Looking Ahead

Ulrikson is now writing her second novel and considering partnership with a literary agent and mainstream publisher. She continues to run a monthly newsletter on her website, a space where she shares book recommendations, updates, and short personal reflections to brighten your day.

She also contributes to a larger mental-health project with other psychology students and professionals. “I do a lot of professional and clinical writing,” she said, “and while I can’t go into detail for confidentiality reasons, this is also an exciting project that I am fortunate to be a part of.”

As for her literary influences, she gravitates toward stories that stretch reality. “I am most drawn to stories that are not merely about the real world,” she explained. “You can see my affinity for the speculative in Behind the Red Wooden Door. I think this preference might stem from my having quite an active imagination and having often escaped into my own mind when the outside world was scary or unfamiliar to me.”

The Door Stays Open

Behind the Red Wooden Door is available globally in paperback and Kindle editions. It is a work of quiet power, the kind of novel that speaks in whispers rather than shouts, trusting the reader to meet it halfway.

For Ulrikson, storytelling is both craft and calling. “Passion and practice are important prerequisites for developing a talent,” she said. “While I did feel connected to the written or spoken word for as long as I can remember, I would never have reached the milestone of seeing my book out there on the market if I had never sat down and practiced my craft years before.”

Some doors open to new worlds. Others lead us back to the parts of ourselves we have forgotten. Sofia Ulrikson’s debut opens both.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as therapy or medical advice. Always seek guidance from qualified professionals for advice related to your individual needs or concerns.